Model aircraft typically have canopies which constitute a relatively detailed component of the aircraft. The canopies are generally supplied to an end user, such as a modeler, as a single piece of transparent shaped plastic which is attached to the aircraft. To make the canopies appear to be realistic, the modeler must paint the frame of the canopy, i.e., that portion of the canopy structurally supporting transparent plastic portions which simulate glass panes in the canopy. It can be appreciated, when the frame is painted, that the transparent plastic portions simulating glass panes in the canopy should remain transparent and not be painted. For this reason and the additional reason that canopies are commonly very detailed, it can be further appreciated that it is very time consuming and tedious to paint canopies. Furthermore, even with much time and effort applied toward the painting of the frame of a canopy, it very unlikely that the paint will be precisely applied and that the simulated glass panes will remain untouched by the paint.
Another problem associated with canopy frames is that the interior of the frames must also be painted. This is because the canopy, or a portion thereof, is often attached to the body of the aircraft so that the interior side of the canopy frame is often visible. Furthermore, the interior side of the canopy frame is generally a different color from the exterior side thereof. The interior of the canopy frame must therefore be painted separately from the exterior side of the canopy frame. Because access to the interior side is more limited than access to the exterior side, the interior side is even more difficult to paint than the exterior side. Additionally, any paint inadvertently applied to the exterior or interior side of the glass panes between the frames shows through to the other side.
One solution to the foregoing problems is to apply decals to the canopy frame. However, it is extremely difficult, when painting the body of an aircraft, to match the color used on the aircraft to the printed color of a decal. Furthermore, a decal on the exterior side of a canopy does not provide any color to the interior side of the canopy frame, thereby requiring a second decal for the interior side. If a second decal is used, it must be precisely aligned with the first decal to avoid a decal shadowing effect which would show through from each side to the other side of the simulated glass panes of the canopy.
A further drawback with decals is that they typically have a thickness of approximately 0.5 mils (0.0005 inches), which is not sufficiently thick to accurately represent the scaled thickness of a frame on a canopy.
Therefore, what is needed is a system and method for easily and precisely applying color to the interior as well as to the exterior sides of a canopy frame, and for accurately representing the scaled thickness of the frame.